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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

World Diabetes Day 2015: Act today to change tomorrow

November
14 is World Diabetes Day, the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign.
Created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health
Organization, the WDD campaign reaches a global audience of over 1 billion
people in more than 160 countries. According to WHO estimates, 600 million
adults worldwide will be living with type 2 diabetes by 2035, and up to 70% of
those cases could be prevented with healthy lifestyle changes. WDD 2015 focuses
on healthier eating and its role in global diabetes prevention.

The WDD 2015 guide
promotes a diet rich in leafy vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, lean meat,
unsweetened yogurt, and nuts, since such a diet can reduce a person’s type 2
diabetes risk. Additionally, the guide encourages more regular eating schedules
in light of a recent study
in the American Journal of Nutrition showing that eating breakfast, having 3 meals
a day, and avoiding snacks between meals can all reduce the risk of type 2
diabetes.

What
you eat and when you eat are both important in preventing diabetes, but so is where you eat. According to a recent Harvard study,
for each lunch a person prepares at home per week, their risk for type 2
diabetes decreases by 2%. Each dinner one prepares at home decreases their risk
by 4%. All in all, eating out less, cooking at home more, and eating in a relaxed
environment were found to be beneficial.

Diet
modifications like these are one of the many teaching points of the National Diabetes
Prevention Program. To learn more about the DPP in Colorado,
visit our website.
For a list of CDC recognized DPP programs in Colorado, click here.
To learn more about the WDD campaign, click here.